Plastic tray for eggs

ABSTRACT

Plastic tray for eggs which can readily and stably be stacked or packed in layers within a carton by means of novel convex and concave projections provided thereto which cooperate with the corresponding convex and concave projections provided to another plastic tray of the same kind when a number of trays of the same kind are disposed one over the other by turning them alternately at an angle of 180*, and which can rightly be disposed in the manner mentioned above by means of handling portions provided to opposite two flanges of the tray and having configurations different from each other.

I United States Patent [151 3,675,806

Noguchi 1 July 11, 1972 54 PLASTIC TRAY FOR EGGS 3,420,395 l/1969 Boydet al ..2l7 /26.5 m1 Inventor HM New, 125140, ??23'33? 3/322 $322333:Jill/i2? Narahashi, Yamato-Machi, Kitatana-gun, Tokyo Japan PrimaryExaminer-Davis T. Moorhead 22 Filed: Sept. 8, 1970 oy and Neimark 1 pp70,043 57 ABSTRACT 1 Plastic tray for eggs which can readily and stablybe stacked or [52] U.S. Cl ..2l7/26.5, 229/25, 229/29 M packed in layerswithin a carton by means of novel convex and [5 l Int. Cl ..B65d 81/00concave projections provided thereto which cooperate with [58] Field ofSearch ..2l7/26.5; 229/29 M, 2.5 the corresponding convex and concaveprojections provided to another plastic tray of the same kind when anumber of 5 References Cited trays of the same kind are disposed oneover the other by tuming them alternately at an angle of 180, and whichcan rightly UNITED STATES PATENTS be disposed in the manner mentionedabove by means of handling portions provided to opposite two flanges ofthe tray and 2,936,922 5/ l 960 Williams ..2 1 7/265 havingconfigurations different from each other 3,360,150 12/1967 Schechter.....2 1 7126.5 2,691,456 10/1954 Shepard ..217/26.5 4 Clains, 6 DrawingFigures P'A'TENTEBJUL 11 m2 3,675,806

sum 10F 3' FIG. I

INVENTOR BY ATTORNEY 5' P'A'TE'N'TEDJUL 1 1 m2 SHEET 2 BF 3 INVENTORATTORNEYS PKTENTEDJUL 1 I I972 SHEET 3 [IF 3 INVENTOR PLASTIC TRAY FOREGGS This invention relates to a plastic tray for eggs.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a plastictray for eggs which can readily and stably be stacked or packed inlayers within a carton by means of novel convex and concave projectionsprovided thereto which cooperate with the corresponding convex andconcave projections provided to another plastic tray of the same kindwhen a number of trays of the same kind are disposed one over the otherby tuming them alternately at an angle of 180, and which can rightly bedisposed in the manner mentioned above by means of handling portionsprovided to opposite two flanges of the tray and having configurationsdifferent from each other.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a plastic trayfor eggs of the kind mentioned above, in which the flanges are providedwith a rib which is made integral with the flanges and extends upwardlytherefrom, whereby the mechanical strength of the tray is remarkablystrengthened.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a plastictray for eggs, in which walls which form a plurality of cavities forreceiving eggs thereinto are downwardly curved at their top edges,whereby the eggs contained in the cavities may easily be taken out.

In the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of aplastic tray for eggs in accordance with the present invention isillustrated;

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the plastic tray for eggs made in accordancewith the present invention, in which part thereof is cut off for thesimplicity of the drawing,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation as viewed from the direction of line ll-Il inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-Ill in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line Vl-VI in FIG. 2.

Now, with reference to the drawing, a plastic tray for eggs made inaccordance with the present invention and indicated generally by thenumeral 1 is a substantially oblong rectangular tray provided at itsfour sides with flanges 2, 2', 2" and 2" which extend horizontallyoutwardly from the main body of the tray. A plurality of cavities 3 forreceiving therein eggs are provided to the body of the tray in such away that these cavities are drawn up crosswise in lines. Said cavities 3are shaped as upset truncated cones and provided at their lower partswith pockets 9 the diameters of which are less than those of thecavities 3 and which are provided around their circumferential wallswith flutes 9, as illustrated in FIG. 6.

It is advisable for keeping eggs fresh to store or carry them by havingtheir acute ends downward, that is, in other words by having their airchambers upward. When eggs are put into the cavities 3 in the manner asdescribed above, their acute ends come into abutment with the flutes 9of pockets 9 and are resiliently supported in said pockets.

To each of bottoms of pockets 9, there is provided a circular recess 11which projects upwardly inwardly into the pocket.

Between four adjacent cavities 3, there are provided projections 5 whichare shaped as upright truncated cones and have top surfaces of adiameter substantially equal to that of the bottom surfaces of pockets9. To the top surface of each projection 5, there is provided a convexprojection 4, the dimension of which is substantially equal to that ofthe circular recess 11. The projections 5 and convex projections 4thereof which are along the flange 2 are shaped as halves of otherprojections 5 and convex projections 4, which are taken in the verticaldirection, and are indicated by the numeral 7 in order to distinguishthem from the projections 5. The cavities which are along the flange 2"which is opposite to the flange 2 are shaped as halves of other cavities3, which are taken in the vertical direction, and are indicated by thenumeral 6 in order to distinguish them from the cavities 3. Likewise,cavities 6 extending in a row along the flange 2', which is transverseto the flanges 2 and 2" are halves of other cavities 3. And, theprojections 5 and convex projections 4 made integral with saidprojections and extending in a row along the flange 2" which is oppositeto the flange 2' are halves of other projections 5 and convexprojections 7 thereof, and indicated by the numeral 7. Inwardlyprojected portions 8 and 8' of different configurations are provided tothe flanges 2 and 2" for handling of the tray.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawing, the aforementionedcavities 6 have such a height that they abut at their bottom to theconvex projections 4 of the projections 5. However, said cavities 6might be provided with semicircular recesses which correspond to therecesses 11 and can insertedly be fitted to the convex projections 4 ofprojections 5.

To the flanges 2, 2', 2", 2", there is provided a rib 12 which is madeintegral with the flanges and project upwardly therefrom. Said rib 12works to reinforce the mechanical strength of the flanges which arecomparatively thin in their thickness. Upper edges 13 of walls whichform the cavities 3 are inwardly curved at their central portions, asbest shown in FIG. 3.

The portion 8 which makes it easy to handle the tray especially when thetray is stored into a carton, inwardly projects to such an extent thatthe inner linear edges thereof runs substantially in parallel with theinnermost upper edges of the cavities 6. And the other portion 8' forhandling the tray consists of a linear part 14 and inwardly curved part14.

Each part of the tray in accordance with the present invention are madeintegral with each other by plastics by means of injection, compressionor extrusion molding said materials. The numeral 10 indicates an egg tobe stored in the tray.

The trays having the constructions as stated above and provided witheggs at each of the cavities thereof may be stored by stacking them inlayers one over the other in such a manner that the trays are disposedby turning them alternately at an angle of in the horizontal direction.In other words, the trays are disposed in layers, so that the holdingprojection 8 of one of the trays may be located above or below theprojections 8 of other trays which are vertically next to said one ofthe trays. By stacking the trays in the manner described above, theconvex projections 4 of a tray are insertedly fitted into the circularrecesses 11 of cavities 3 of the tray which is stacked over the formertray, and the projections 7 of the former tray come into abutment withthe bottoms of the cavities 6 of the latter tray, as best shown in FIG.2.

When the trays are stored in layers within a carton for the sake oftransportation, the circumferential measurement of trays should besubstantially equal to the inner diameter of the carton. It shall benoted that the holding portions 8 and 8' do not only help a packer tostack the trays in the order as abovementioned, but also help him totake out the trays from the carton since said holding portions areinwardly recessed and form gaps between the trays and the inner walls ofthe carton, which permit him to insert his fingers thereinto to graspthe trays.

As the advantageous points of the present invention tray, it shall benoted also that the provision of rib 12 does considerably reinforce themechanical strength of the tray as a whole, and that the inwardly curvedupper edges 13 of walls of cavities make it easy to take out from thetray the eggs 10 housed within the cavity as shown in FIG. 3.

It will be obviOus to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the scope of the invention and theinvention is not to be considered limited to what is shown in thedrawings and described in the specification.

What is claimed is:

1. A plastic tray for eggs: which comprises a substantially oblongrectangular body provided at its four sides with flanges extendinghorizontally outwardly from the body and a plurality of cavities forreceiving eggs therein which are drawn up crosswise in rows; saidcavities being shaped as upset truncated cones having at their bottomscircular recesses; projections provided between each four adjacentcavities and shaped as upright truncated cones having at their topsurfaces convex projections; a row of projections extending along theinner edges of two of said flanges and having a height substantiallyequal to that of the first-mentioned projections; a line of cavitiesextending along the inner edges of said other flanges which are oppositeto the first-mentioned two flanges; and portions for grasping the traywhich are provided to two of said flanges which are opposite to eachother, said portions having configurations different from each other;said circular recesses provided to the bottoms of said cavities beingengageable with the convex projections provided to the top surfaces ofthe first-mentioned projections, and the line of secondmentionedprojections coming into abutment with the bottoms of the row of thesecond-mentioned cavities when a number of the trays are stacked inlayers in such a manner that they are disposed one over the other byturning them alternately at an angle of in the horizontal direction;said portions for grasping the tray acting as indicators for stackingthe trays in the manner described above and enabling the removal of atray from a carton when the trays are housed within the carton.

2. A plastic tray for eggs as claimed in claim 1, in which thesecond-mentioned projections are shaped as the first-mentionedprojections cut perpendicularly into halves, and the second-mentionedcavities are shaped as the first-mentioned cavities cut perpendicularlyinto halves but not provided with the circular recesses,

3. A plastic tray for eggs as claimed in claim 1, in which the flangesare provided with a rib integrally made therewith and extending upwardlytherefrom.

4 A plastic tray for eggs as claimed in claim 1, in which the wallsforming the plurality of cavities for receiving eggs are downwardlycurved at their top edges.

1. A plastic tray for eggs: which comprises a substantially oblongrectangular body provided at its four sides with flanges extendinghorizontally outwardly from the body and a plurality of cavities forreceiving eggs therein which are drawn up crosswise in rows; saidcavities being shaped as upset truncated cones having at their bottomscircular recesses; projections provided between each four adjacentcavities and shaped as upright truncated cones having at their topsurfaces convex projections; a row of projections extending along theinner edges of two of said flanges and having a height substantiallyequal to that of the first-mentioned projections; a line of cavitiesextending along the inner edges of said other flanges which are oppositeto the first-mentioned two flanges; and portions for grasping the traywhich are provided to two of said flanges which are opposite to eachother, said portions having configurations different from each other;said circular recesses provided to the bottoms of said cavities beingengageable with the convex projections provided to the top surfaces ofthe first-mentioned projections, and the line of second-mentionedprojections coming into abutment with the bottoms of the row of thesecond-mentioned cavities when a number of the trays are stacked inlayers in such a manner that they are disposed one over the other byturning them alternately at an angle of 180* in the horizontaldirection; said portions for grasping the tray acting as indicators forstacking the trays in the manner described above and enabling theremoval of a tray from a carton when the trays are housed within thecarton.
 2. A plastic tray for eggs as claimed in claim 1, in which thesecond-mentioned projections are shaped as the first-mentionedprojections cut perpendicularly into halves, and the second-mentionedcavities are shaped as the first-mentioned cavities cut perpendicularlyinto halves but not provided with the circular recesses.
 3. A plastictray for eggs as claimed in claim 1, in which the flanges are providedwith a rib integrally made therewith and extending upwardly therefrom.4. A plastic tray for eggs as claimed in claim 1, in which the wallsforming the plurality of cavities for receiving eggs are downwardlycurved at their top edges.